Xbox One Thermal Images

We took some great infrared shots of the Sony Playstation 4 last week, and we thought we'd follow up this week with the all new Xbox One from Microsoft. Going into it, I expect there to a bit of difference, given the fact that Microsoft, like the Xbox 360 has gone with an external power brick, which means less heat generation within the main body. We'll be taking images using the FLIR E8 with MSX®.

Keep in mind, these are electronics, and they all get warm, this is meant to show you how the Xbox One handles and vents heat.

Just like the PS4, I powered up the console and ran the firmware update. I took my first images as it'd been on around 5 minutes.

As you can see, the Xbox One's main fan is on the top right side of the unit, and it heated up to 86.2ºF/30ºC. Note, that the entire left side of the Xbox One is extremely reflective, and is a different emissivity, so the readings here will not be accurate.

The max temp at this point of the external power brick is around 65ºF/18ºC. It creates a fascinating heat pattern around it, as the brick has vent hotels that push air through them.

In this photo you can see that there isn't much heat coming out from the rear of the Xbox One.

After logging in, and watching the intro video, the Xbox One now is reading around 90.1ºF/32ºC.

The power brick has now warmed up considerably, reading 82ºF/28ºC.

After starting the Dead Rising 3 install, the power brick is now reading around 86.4ºF/30ºC. around its vent. Note: I've got the power supply upside down to show you the defined thermal gradient forming thanks to the venting fans, make sure to keep yours right side up and allow clearance for these vents.

The Xbox One Kinect sitting idle during the Dead Rising 3 install read around 94.3ºF/34ºC.

Still holding at around 90ºF/32ºC just as the Dead Rising 3 install finishes.

I'll continue to be posting photos in the next few hours, so please check back as I run Dead Rising 3, and see how hot the Xbox gets in the entertainment center.

UPDATE 2:

The Xbox One has been on continuously for about 3 hours now, and just past 2.5 hours of Dead Rising 3, and the vents are reading around 110-114ºF/43-45ºC pretty much 10 minutes into gameplay. However, as the pictures will show below, the power brick, and the Kinect rise in temperature.

After about 2 hours with Dead Rising, the vent is reading 112ºF/44ºC

A more direct view a little bit later, and its around 115ºF/46ºC

Once again, the back of the Xbox One remains mostly cool, with the power and HDMI ports becoming warmer over time, max temp reading 98ºF/37ºC. The rear vents however remain cool.

The power brick is now reading 103ºF/39ºC up from 82ºF/28ºC earlier.

The top of the Kinect sensor is now 101ºF/38ºC.

And the warmest part of the rear of the Kinect sensor is around 98.4º/37ºC.

In conclusion, the Xbox One runs about 15º-25ºF/10º-14ºC cooler than the Playstation 4, and much of this can most likely be attributed to its external power supply, as this is internal on the Playstation 4's smaller form factor.

UPDATE 3:

There were some requests to see how it heated up while watching TV via its HDMI input.

It's running about 97.5ºF/36ºC after 1.5 hours of TV viewing.

The power brick is around 83ºF/28ºC

And the Kinect, reads at a whopping 108ºF/42ºC

Thanks for reading! Happy gaming!

Special thanks to Jon Anderson, who provided the Xbox One for the test.